Trueblood: new temple, old idol

Saturday, October 22, 2016
Meditation:
    [Paul to the Athenians:] “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”
    —Acts 17:24-25 (ESV)
Quotation:
    In some communities there remains, as a vestige of a false conception of the church building, a resistance to the sale and purchase of books on a table... anywhere on the premises. When this position is expressed, it must be attacked directly and unapologetically, because it represents a genuine evil, ... the idolatry of bricks and mortar, a heresy specifically undermined by the Apostle Paul in Athens when he said, “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by man” (Acts 17:24). The notion that it is perfectly all right to sell a New Testament in the department store on Monday, but that it is wrong to sell it in the meetinghouse on Sunday, represents a confusion so great that it is truly appalling.
    As Christians, we believe in the Real Presence, but it is a severe denial of the divine power to claim that this Presence is limited geographically. If, in a building dedicated to worship, a seeker buys a book on Sunday morning and his life is deepened in consequence, the only important thing to say is that the Gospel has thereby been preached, and this is one of the major tasks of the Church.
    ... Elton Trueblood (1900-1994), The Incendiary Fellowship, New York: Harper, 1967, p. 64-65 (see the book)
    See also Acts 17:24-25; 1 Kings 8:27; 2 Chr. 2:6; 6:18; John 4:22-23; Acts 7:48-50
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, send Your Spirit to remind me of Your Presence in all things. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Gossip: the waste of misdirection

Friday, October 21, 2016
Meditation:
    And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
    —Philippians 1:9-11 (ESV)
Quotation:
    When we look at the history of the Church, at the reckless fashion in which we have squandered our strength and time in fratricidal struggles between sect and sect, in embittered bickerings over matters often of secondary moment, while the world about us lies unwon, and the Church’s great commission remains plainly unfulfilled, surely we can understand that outburst of Erasmus, when he cried that he wished that we would cease from our disputings altogether, and put all that energy and zeal that we are wasting upon them into the carrying of the Gospel to the heathen! Or recall the infinite pains that have been taken, down the centuries, to preserve minute orthodoxy in all points of mental belief while ugly evils flaunt along the streets and are accepted meekly as part of the makeup of things! Or recollect how easy it is to assume that we, ourselves, are Christian people. Why? Oh, well, just the usual reasons: we say our prayers, when we are not too sleepy; and we come to church, when there is nothing much to do; and so, of course, there is no doubt of it, although our tempers may remain uncurbed, and our characters are not the least like Jesus Christ’s, nor growing any nearer it! Do we not need that solemn warning that Christ gives us when He tells us bluntly that many people lose their lives and souls, because they are always laying the emphasis and stress on the wrong points?
    ... A. J. Gossip (1873-1954), The Galilean Accent, Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1926, p. 236-237 (see the book)
    See also Phil. 1:9-11; Matt. 23:13; Rom. 2:17-21; 1 Tim. 1:3-4; 2 Tim. 2:14,16; 4:3-4; Tit. 1:13-14; 2 Pet. 1:16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, lead me to use Your gifts to Your glory and to the benefit of Your church. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Kraemer: the Church belongs to Christ

Thursday, October 20, 2016
Meditation:
    ... for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears.
    —Acts 20:27-31 (ESV)
Quotation:
    By God’s grace we live in a time of rediscovery of the Church and of the wholeness of the Church. We see more clearly than often has been the case that ecclesiology and christology are one. The ekklesia, the community of believers, has as its first and foremost qualification that it is that community which, as community, belongs to Christ and is in Christ, and as such is the sphere of God’s salvation, redemption and reconciliation and of Christ’s rulership. This is the archetypal reality of the Church. To see and seize this essential point is a great blessing. This blessing, however, could as well become a curse, if it remained a theme of theological meditation and self-contemplation. This new knowledge is not real knowledge, if it is not accompanied by a horror about the alienation of the empirical Church from its own fundamental reality and by a deep longing for a tangible manifestation of the Church’s true nature. This horror and this longing are the deeper motives which are operating in many of the events and passionate discussions around the place and responsibility of the laity as an organic part of the Church.
    ... Hendrik Kraemer (1888-1965), A Theology of the Laity, London: Lutterworth Press, 1958, p. 100 (see the book)
    See also Acts 20:27-31; Isa. 46:9-11; Matt. 28:19-20; John 15:15; 2 Cor. 5:17; 11:3; Rev. 3:1-2,14-16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, quicken Your church. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Newbigin: knowing the Spirit

Wednesday, October 19, 2016
    Feast of Henry Martyn, Translator of the Scriptures, Missionary in India & Persia, 1812
Meditation:
    And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. There were about twelve men in all.
    —Acts 19:1-7 (ESV)
Quotation:
    The apostle asked the converts of Apollos one question: “Did ye receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” and got a plain answer. His modern successors are more inclined to ask either “Did you believe exactly what we teach?” or “Were the hands that were laid on you our hands?” and—if the answer is satisfactory—to assure the converts that they have received the Holy Spirit even if they don’t know it.
    ... Lesslie Newbigin (1909-1998), The Household of God, London, SCM Press, 1953, New York: Friendship Press, 1954, p. 104 (see the book)
    See also Acts 19:1-7; Joel 2:28; Acts 8:12-17; 10:44-48; Gal. 3:2-5
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, turn our eyes from the forms to the reality of Your Presence. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Cogdell: Jesus, the pioneer of faith

Tuesday, October 18, 2016
    Feast of Luke the Evangelist
Meditation:
I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
    he delivered me from all my fears.
    —Psalm 34:4 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Jesus ventured to trust God far beyond the degree that any other man had trusted God. Abraham, Moses, and David were valiant believers, but compared to Jesus they were timid souls. Consider the human disappointments Jesus endured: rejected in his home town, harassed and persecuted by the religious leaders of his nation, misunderstood by his own family, betrayed with a kiss and abandoned by all his followers. Yet through it all Jesus never complained or rebelled against God; he trusted God even on the cross. Psalm 34 sets forth Jesus’ pioneering discovery of God’s faithfulness and delivering power. Thus Jesus was “delivered from all his fears” (v 4), “saved ... out of all his troubles” (v 6), “delivered out of all his afflictions” (v 19).
    Certainly Jesus is our primary teacher and example in trusting God. If David could teach his followers to trust in God, how much more Jesus . As we see the steadfast faith of our Lord through weariness, disappointment, rejection, and even death on a cross, we cannot but be encouraged to believe that God can deliver us through our small trials. That is why we should run the race set before us looking unto Jesus.
    ... John R. Cogdell, “The humanity of Jesus Christ, as revealed in certain Psalms”, section II (see the book)
    See also Ps. 34; Isa. 53:7; Matt. 5:11-12; Mark 15:2-5; Acts 20:24; Rom. 8:18; 2 Cor. 4:17-18; Heb. 12:1-2; 1 Pet. 1:6-7
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, keep my eyes on You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Owen: temptation

Monday, October 17, 2016
    Feast of Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, Martyr, c.107
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
    —Luke 22:31-32 (ESV)
Quotation:
    Steadfastness in believing doth not exclude all temptations from without. When we say a tree is firmly rooted, we do not say the wind never blows upon it.
    ... John Owen (1616-1683), Works of John Owen, v. IX, New York: R. Carter, 1851, Serm. I, p. 27 (see the book)
    See also Luke 22:31-32, Ps. 1:1-3; 46:1; John 14:1; Rom. 4:20; Jas. 1:5-6
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your strength is my only hope. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Calvin: no reliance on good works

Sunday, October 16, 2016
Meditation:
    For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
    —Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV)
Quotation:
    Justification is withdrawn from works, not that no good works may be done, or that what is done may be denied to be good, but that we may not rely upon them, glory in them, or ascribe salvation to them.
    ... John Calvin (1509-1564), The Institutes of the Christian Religion, v. II, tr. John Allen, Presbyterian Board of Publication and Sabbath-School Work, 1921, III.xvii.1, p. 34 (see the book)
    See also Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 3:20-24,28; Gal. 2:15-16; 3:11,24
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I cannot save myself. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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